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Despite a poor stretch in September, the Kansas City Royals did see a surge in performance after the All-Star break that propelled them back into the postseason mix deep into the season after looking down for the count at multiple points this season.<\/p>\n
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Amidst the Royals second-half surge has been a series of individual improvements, including from a player that was argubaly their worst bullpen arm before hitting the IL, Sam Long.<\/p>\n
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While Long may be looking far more serviceable than his first-half self, Royals fans should be wary of jumping on the hype train<\/a> quite yet with the southpaw, as a deeper look into the numbers will show numerous aspects that are less than ideal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The key stat that will jump off the page when comparing Long’s first half and second half stats<\/a> is the ERA. Before the All-Star break, Long was sporting an ERA just shy of 10.00 (9.82). However, since then, his ERA has been just north of 2.00 (2.12).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, it should be prefaced that Long is undeniably showing improvements across the board. The pont is though that it’s not enough change to really warrant the Royals buying in on his stock as the offseason approaches.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His second-half WHIP is still a poor looking 1.54 and his BAA is stil in the high .200s at .276. Long also sports a 4.48 second-half FIP, which is more than double his ERA, implying that he’s gotten lucky more often than not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His strikeout rate has gone up and his walk rate has dropped, but a 19.1% K-rate and a 10.0% are not inspiring marks to say the least.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRoyals fans should be hesitant to buy-in on Sam Long amid second-half bounce back<\/h2>\n